Art of applying reinforcing fabric to innersoles and the like.



ART OF APPLYING REIN PATENTED MAY 14, 1907'.

, A. THOMA. PORGING FABRIC T0 INNERSOLBS AND THE LIKE.

APPLIUATION FILED 0012. 1906.

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.Q. J and? Q77 m jz g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW THOMA, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN OR TO CLIFTONMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPO- RATION OFNEW JERSEY.

ART OF APPLYING REINFORCING FABRIC TO INNERSOLES AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 2', 1905. Serial No. 280,930.

Patented May 14, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW THOMA, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cambridge, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in the Art of ApplyingReinforcing Fabric to Innersoles and the Like, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

-()ne of the most difficult parts of shoe manufacture is the reinforcingof the innersoles with canvas, due to the difiiculty of making thecanvas stick to leather. The innersole bodycontains a feather edge forsupporting the upper and a stitch-receiving rib or projection to whichthe edge of the upper and of the welt are sewed, and in order to makethe com aratively stiff canvas conform neatly an accurately to thesedepressions and projections and become adherent to the entire surface,pounding machines are used for pressing the canvas to the leather byrapid pressing movements or blows applied simultaneously to the canvasat the opposite sides of the rib and progressing around the rib from oneend thereof to the other. The result is that as the stiff canvas isbeing pounded down at one side, it is pulled up at the other side of theinnersole. The usual 7 means of securing the canvas is by naphtharubbercement, which is not only expensive, but, because of the evaporation ofthe naphtha and its quick oxidation, will not hold properly. Moreover,it is re elled by the wet leather, and, being exceedingly stringy incharacter, is wasteful and tends to smear surrounding objects. Othermeans have been devised for cementing the fabric, but

the absorbent characte" of the fabric and the repellent character of thewet or oily leather have stood in the way of success.

My invention consists in providing the fabric with a thin coating imervious to the cementing agency, but which 1s influenced by heat so asto become capable of amalgamating or uniting with the cementing agencywithout losing its character as a coating, and then applying a specialcementing agency capable of uniting tenaciously with the external.surface of the coating on one side and with the fibcr of the leather onthe other side.

in other words, 1 interpose between the se of the cement externallyavailable and active for adhering to the leather.

I have found that,in cements which are capable of penetrating andenveloping the surface fibers of leather with the requisite grip tomaintain adhesion in spite of the presence in the leather of dampness,oil, whiting or other repellent matter, a great amount of the stickyproperty is commonly absorbed by the canvas, so that the strength andadhesiveness of the cement is lost for the leather. I provide a specialmeans of applying the cement, and the latter is so compounded that,taken with the above-described method, a copiousness and adhesivenessare obtained which will reduce a tenacious close union with the leat erunder all circumstances and will not be repelled by the damp leather,whether fatty in. character. or otherwise filled with repellent orundermining materials such as soap, whiting, etc.

Further details of my invention will be more particularly pointed out inthe course of the following description, reference being had to theaccompanymg drawings in which I have illustrated in vertical transversesection one form of mechanism for carrying out my invention. I do not,however, herein claim the machine nor the fabric-article, but reservethem for separate patents, the present case being restricted to theprocess or art of treating, applying and securing the fabric.

I first coat the canvas, full width, with a layer ofsuitable resinous orsticky material ca-. pable of becoming firm and non-sticky or dry whencold, so that the coated sheet or strip can be rolled and practicallyhandled. I will mention later on a Wide variety of materials which maybe used for this purpose, but I prefer to use a gutta percha orvegetable gum coating, as it can be readily applied in an exceedinglythin coating if desired, affords a great strength of resistance ortoughness on cooling, and is readily responsive to heat. The sheet whenthus coated is then cut into strips of the required width for thereinforcing purpose in hand. For the purpose of rendering my inventionplainly understood, I will confine my description to the reinforcing ofinnersoles (although it will be coated strip, wound understood that itis capable of various other applications). I then mount a roll 1 of thiswith the coated side inward, on a suitable support 2 and pass the samedown over guide rolls 3, 4, into contact with the upper side of amoistening drum 5 provided with an external surfaced of felt or othersuitable moisture-carrying material, and turning freely in a moisteningtank 7 preferably filled with water, shown as steam heated by pipes 8,9. the fabric is pressed tightly on the upper side of the drum 5 over asuilicient extent of surface thereof to insure proper moistening of thefabric in order to render it readily pliable, being thence conductedover guide rolls 10,

,11, 12 to a hot drum 13 of iron or other suit able heat-radiatingmaterial, said guide rolls 12'and drum being so located as to bring thecoated side of the fabric in contact with the drum, heated by anysuitable means as steam from a steam pi'pe 14. The heat of the drum 13instantly transforms the previously dry coating of the fabric to asticky condition, and simultaneously moistens it with an application ofhot, strongly adherent, non-oxidizing cement 15 ma1ntained highly liquidby a steam-jacket 16 or other heating means for the cement tank 17..

The result is that a strong union of the guttaercha coating and thecementitious liquid is efiected and a more perfect and copious externalstickiness is secured without losing any of its penetrating qualitiesthan can be obtained otherwise. The saturated covering of the dampeningroll 5 properly and uni- ,formly dampens, without soaking, the uncoatedside of the fabric which not only facilitates the subsequent applicationof the canvas to the innersoles, but makes certain that the canvas sideor inner surface of the gutta-percha coating will not beinflueneed bythe heat but will remain as an impervious barrier between the cement andthe canvas,

while the external surface of said coating is instantly rendered tackyand sticky by the steam heated drum, so that it will unite with andsupport any desired amount of the nonoxidizing outer layer of hot cement15. I

rovide a cement-regulator or coatin -controller 18 capable of beingcarefully ad usted by a screw 19 for limiting the amount of fluid cementconveyed by the hot roll, thereby insuring the exact and uniform coatingrequired. The heat of the drum directly on the gutta-percha-coated sideof the fabric softens said coating and the hot cement prolongs theheating of the undercoating and unites with it in producing an adhesiveuality (as well as quantity) which it is im* poss'ble to get with themethods at present em loyed. l

he penetrating outer coating of sticky non-oxidizing cement consists ofsoft, sticky The uncoated side of pitchor other strongly adheringresinous mass capable of being used for this purpose. My special coatingis set forth in my application Ser. No. 249,688, liled Mch 13 1905. Thistreatment of the gum or gutta perm-ha coating develops an exceedinglypliable and adhesive qurity which is notrepelled or undermined by alittle moisture or fatty or oily dressing, a different organic elementis introduced, and the still more pliable and sticky cementitiouselement of the top dressing is introduced at the time of thesubjeetion'ol the gutta percha coating to the action of heat, therebynot only rendering the entire coating non-oxidizable, but retaining onthe surface all the penetrating, viscid qualities. If the gutta perchacoating were placed on the outside and the non-exidizing coating on theinside of the fabric, only .a small amount of the sticky propertieswould be available, whereas by my present method I can get a y amount ofstickiness, and instead of being required to use a large amount of guttapercha, thereby tending -to stiffen and harden the cloth, my presentmethod enables me to secure extreme pliability, because only a very thinbasic coating is necessary, amounting,- in fact, to not much more than amere sizuw, as it depends almost wholly on the externa cement layer for"the sticking (iuality 'and'does not necessarily depend at al thereforupon the foundation coating. Although preferably I use a more or lessheavy foundation coating such as already described, which maadhesiveq'ualities, Ipreferto use gutta ercha as a foundation coating, forreasons a ready mentioned, and also as it is non-sticky when dry, althouh a normally sticky coating can be used and dusted over with starch,whiting, or the like, to enable it to be rolled and handled, whichwilldisa pear when heated, being taken u or lost etween the heatedcoating and t e heated cement. For instanee,I may em loy solutions ofvegetable oils and resins. i or do I limit myself to the particularcomposition mentioned for the cementitious external layer, as it may bemodified to a limited extent, as, for instance, during the winterseason, I introduce means reater liability and elasticity to thecoating. Tint-em to chan e and modify the cement, moreover, accor n tothe particular surface to which the fabric or reinforcing mate-; rial isto be applied. The remaining step in using the cemented fabric consistssimply) of pulling or delivering said cemented fa lic om a guide roll 20to a table 21 where it is applied by hand to the innersoles, and thencut off from the strip anddelivered to the pounding and pressing machinealready mntioned.

It will be understood that While I have ex-.

matter, for, by union with this special top terially aids in developingand retaining the such as boiled vegetable oils, for insuring seaszoplained my invention in connection with re inforcing innersoles, I donot intend to limit it in all cases thereto. Having described myinvention, What claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The herein described process, consisting of providing the fabric witha permanent coating impervious to cement but capable of uniting with it,providing a strongly adherent, sticky cement in liquid form, uniting athin layer of said liquid cement as a top dressing to said coating, andthen applying the cemented fabric under pressure to the leather orsurface to be covered.

2. The herein described process,- consisting I of providing the fabricwith a normally nonsticky coating, capable of being rendered stick byheat, heating said coating, applying thereto a dressing of stronglyadherent sticky cement, and then applying the ce.

merited fabric under pressure to the surface to be covered.

3. The herein described rocess, consisting of providing the fabric Wit anormally nonsticky coating, capable of bein rendered sticky by heat,applying on sai coating a I hot dressing of strongly adherent, stickycement.

4i The herein described process, consisting of providing the fabric witha normally dry,

oxidizable coating, capable of becoming superficially sticky under heat,heating the same, applying thereto a layer of sticky nonoxidizingcement, and pressing the fabric,

then cemented upon the leather or other surface. 4 v

5.' The herein described process, consisting of providing the fabricwith a normally dry,

oxidizable coating, capable of becoming superficially sticky under heat,applying thereto a layer of hot non-oxidizable sticky cement, and thenpressing the cemented fabric upon the leather or other surface. v

. 6. The herein described process, consisting of providing the fabricwith a gutta percha coating, heating the outer surface of said coating,applying thereto a hot cement con-

